We are in week 31 of The Story. You can find the Weekly Bible Reading Plan HERE. As you read, below are a few questions to journal or discuss with someone reading along with you! Have a great week reading God's Word!

• As you study this final chapter of The Story throughout your week, develop a description in your journal of God the Father and of Jesus the Son. For example, Jesus Christ is the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead and the ruler of the kings of the earth. Skim through the gospels. What descriptions do you find there? What portraits and descriptions of God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit are most meaningful to you? 

• Jesus had a message for each of the churches in Asia. Identify the problem and the solution in each church. What was promised to the one who overcomes it? How could we apply the messages to these Asian churches to ourselves today? 

• Read Matthew 24:29-44, 1 Thessalonians 5:1-11, and Titus 2:11-14. Do we know when Jesus will return? Can we be confident that Jesus has not abandoned us and will indeed return? Can we be confident that Jesus will be victorious, no matter how dark and chaotic the world around us becomes? In light of God’s victory, what does it mean to you to “stay awake”? 

• Review Revelation 4-5. What strikes you about this scene of heavenly worship? What do you think it would be like to be there? What glimpses of that worship do you experience here on earth? 

• How does Revelation describe the New Heaven, New Earth, and New Jerusalem? Compare that description back to God’s first creation in Genesis 1-2. What do you look forward to the most when death and evil are no more? 

• Now reflect on the whole journey of The Story. How are you more familiar with the Bible? How are you more engaged in your faith life? How are you more connected with the church and God’s mission for your life?  

• What is the next step after The Story for you? 

PRAYER

God, Thank you that you are the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end! Lord, thank you for the great gift of your story and the ways I have grown in knowledge of who you are and what you desire for each of us in the past 31 weeks. Lord, help me to lean on this new understanding of your story so that my life might reflect more and more of your story every day. Thank you that you continually reach out to us and provide an everlasting relationship with you through your son, Jesus Christ! Amen.